London-based Unilever will invest $270 million for its new Global Innovation Centre to be located in New Haven, Connecticut. Expected to open by spring 2029, the Centre will be a hub of research and development for the company’s personal care, beauty and wellbeing businesses in the U.S. and globally. The company will close an existing R&D facility in Trumbull, CT about 20 miles west of New Haven. Unilever has operated in the Trumbull facility since 1972. Approximately 300 employees will work at the new facility, many coming from Trumbull.
Included in the $270 million New Haven investment is $50 million in capital expenditure. Total combined investment of public and private funds in the new Centre will exceed $300 million. This investment builds on nearly $15 billion invested in Unilever’s U.S. business over the past decade, across acquisitions and capital projects.
Herrish Patel, President of Unilever USA and CEO of Personal Care North America, said, “New Haven gets us to the future faster. Our Global Innovation Centre is where we’ll innovate at the intersection of science, technology, and culture — for the U.S. and for the world. We will build on our deep heritage of innovation to develop the next generation of brands and products that people love.”
Unilever will centralize R&D for its personal care, beauty, and wellbeing products in New Haven, Connecticut. (Photo: Unilever)
The company characterized the move as an opportunity to operate within the New Haven biosciences ecosystem, noting in its press release: “… the centre places Unilever’s U.S. R&D at the heart of innovation in bioscience, building on the company’s expertise in understanding skin biology, the microbiome and the skin-brain axis. The centre will enhance Unilever scientists’ use of cutting-edge neuroscience to create the next generation of desirable products, connecting sensory attributes like texture, fragrance, and bioactives with emotional, behavioural, and wellness responses.”
The Global Innovation Centre will house end-to-end integration of the R&D process, including formulation, fragrance creation, packaging design and consumer insights.Powered by AI and emerging quantum capabilities, the Global Innovation Center is aimed to position Unilever as an innovator in the consumer goods sector. Fueled by the State of Connecticut and private investment, the computational power of quantum will be utilized to accelerate advanced materials discovery.
Richard Slater, Unilever Chief Research & Development Officer, said: “Behind every Unilever product is world-leading science that delivers superior performance, combined with design, fragrance and sensory experiences that make our brands distinctive. Our new Global Innovation Centre will bring these capabilities together to develop new, category-defining innovations in the U.S., and scale globally. The real shift here is integration and speed: science, design and sensorials working as one, with AI and partnerships accelerating every stage of innovation.”
Said Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, “Unilever’s decision to make this investment in New Haven reaffirms Connecticut’s global reputation as a leader in innovation, research and development, and discovery. This innovation centre will serve as an important foundational piece for this burgeoning hub that will not only strengthen New Haven’s existing tech centres but will also boost our innovation ecosystem statewide. I am glad we have Unilever as a valued member of Connecticut’s growing business community, and I look forward to this company continuing to succeed here for many years to come.”